The four of them
by p0em
Summary: People see what they want to see.


**Title**: The four of them  
**Author**: p0em  
**Betas**: ToMoYo FaNeL, myflailstation (tumblr)  
**Fandom** : The Social Network (2010)  
**Genre**: Angst  
**Rating**: General Audience  
**Statut**: Complete  
**Word count**: 2,384  
**Characters**: Chris Hughes, Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin, Mar Zuckerberg  
**Summary**: People see what they want to see.  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own The Social Network or its characters, neither I know the real people mentioned in this story.

* * *

People usually see them as a family; Dustin and Chris being the kids torn apart between Mark and Eduardo, their divorced parents.  
People are wrong. Chris and Dustin are not children and Mark and Eduardo are certainly not parents.

.:.

They used to be four. They hung out together. They lived together. They created Facebook together.

They should have seen it coming from the moment Chris and Eduardo didn't stay in Palo Alto. They should have seen it coming from the moment Sean Parker came between them.  
They didn't see it coming and they couldn't do anything to prevent it.

They used to be four. They were great together, no one was left behind and some people even paired them up. Those people were wrong; they all needed the other. When one of them was missing, three didn't feel right. They needed to be four and only then everything would be all right.

Sometimes, an outsider was there too (Billy, Andrew, some girls). It didn't matter because they were still together, the four of them.

.:.

People usually saw how Eduardo cared about Mark, making sure he slept, ate proper food and drank water. They didn't see Dustin talking about code with Mark and both of them quavering with passion for it at each word. They didn't see Chris buying food and making sure there was always some fruit juice or a bottle of water beside the beers cans.

People usually saw Dustin make silly jokes and Chris stare at him with a stupid look on his face. They didn't notice Mark's fingers slowing while he was coding, a smile on his lips. They didn't get why Eduardo laughed, as if Dustin was telling really great jokes.

People usually saw how Mark looked at Eduardo, the only person who seemed to be able to keep him from his computer. They didn't see Dustin's face light up when Eduardo asked him to play video games. They didn't pay attention to Chris's ability to say the exact right thing and relax Eduardo when he was stressed about finals or freaked out about his father.

People usually saw Chris dropping on the couch or some bed, closer to Dustin than was probably necessary. They weren't there when Eduardo proposed ice cream and his shoulder after a break up. They weren't there when Mark helped Chris to clean the dorm room after a party, while Eduardo and Dustin had a hangover, snoring on the couch.

They used to be four.

.:.

Dustin and Chris had known each other since high school. They were best friends, knew everything about each other, and could speak without words. People thought they were together. As a couple.  
They probably were, in a platonic, denial way. They would be inseparables. They could talk all night long without boring each other. They would date other girls and failed at it together. It was just them. They were fine with that.  
Then Mark and Eduardo arrived. It was difficult to remember the time Mark didn't know Eduardo, because for Chris and Dustin, it was either before MarkandWardo or after MarkandWardo. Never only Mark.

When they moved into their dorm room at Kirkland, Mark didn't speak often. He could stay wired-in in his room for days.  
Then he met Eduardo at an API party, and Eduardo began to come to Kirkland, even if his dorm wasn't near it. Sometimes, it felt like he was living with them.  
It felt good.

Like people thought Dustin and Chris were a couple, they also thought Mark and Eduardo were a couple. Well, Eduardo was obviously in love with Mark, and Mark was totally oblivious.

.:.

The truth is there weren't two pairs within the group. It had always been the four of them. They all loved each other.  
People see what they want to see.

.:.

Facebook was their baby. They were all its parents. For the first time, they had responsabilities. For the first time, there was something greater than them.  
Mark created it, but it couldn't have born without the others' help and support. Eduardo brought money, Dustin coded and Chris advised.  
They didn't think of Facebook as a baby, but it really was. They all gave a part of themeselves into it. If they didn't have been four, Facebook couldn't have become what it is today.

.:.

It took time to realize they needed to be together, the four of them. It took California and Sean Parker to understand that it wouldn't be the same, even if only one of them was missing.  
It took them a dilution and a lawsuit to finally understand they would never get back together.  
Facebook was an orphan.

.:.

Eduardo stayed at his hotel. Mark stayed somewhere with Wi-Fi, where he could worked on Facebook. Dustin and Chris went to a bar after they played their part in the deposition. Seeing Eduardo and Mark face each other as enemies... It wasn't a divorce. It was only a breakup. A breakup between Mark and Eduardo, but also Dustin and Chris. Eduardo told them not to choose, but they shouldn't have to make a choice. Ever.  
Dustin and Chris drank because it was the only way they could forget the look on Mark and Eduardo's faces. None of them wanted this but they all had to go through this and act like it didn't affect them too much.  
Dustin and Chris drank together, alone, because they knew Eduardo wouldn't answer them, and Mark, wired-in, wouldn't even hear the phone.  
Dustin and Chris drank because it was the only thing they could do.

.:.

Dustin stayed with Mark at Facebook. It didn't feel right.  
Chris stayed with Eduardo at Harvard. It didn't feel right.  
Dustin and Chris called each other often. It didn't feel right.  
Mark coded too much, Eduardo worked too much, Dustin joked too much, and Chris cared too much.  
None of it felt right.

.:.

Chris tried everything, but Eduardo wouldn't smile. He tried to take him to parties; Eduardo would stay in a corner with an untouched glass, or he would dance, sometimes, a fake smile on his lips. Chris tried to play video games with him, but whoever won, it felt wrong without Dustin cheering them up or Mark spoiling the moment. Chris tried to speak; Eduardo wouldn't talk.

.:.

Dustin tried everything, but Mark wouldn't even look up. He tried to bring him Redbull; Mark would just take it as granted. Dustin tried to take care of him, to make sure he ate and slept enough; Mark wouldn't look at him, and most of the time, wouldn't listen to him. He tried playing videogames; Mark would beat him and then return to coding.

.:.

Chris was lying on his bed. He called Dustin a few minutes ago and there was this achy feeling in his chest. He was missing Dustin and Mark. He was missing last year.  
He heard footsteps. He rolled on his back and looked at his door. Even in the dark he could recognize him.  
Eduardo was silent.  
"Wardo?" Chris called with a voice no louder than a whisper.  
Eduardo didn't answer. He walked in and lay down on the bed, next to Chris. Chris opened his arms for Eduardo, who pressed himself against his side.  
Eduardo stayed silent. Chris felt tears against his chest.

.:.

It was late. There was nobody at Facebook but Mark, of course. Dustin put his phone in his pocket and took a deep breath before going into Mark's office.  
"Mark, you should be at home. When was the last time you were even there?"  
Mark didn't answer, didn't even flinch.  
"Mark, please. You have to shower. And _sleep_."  
Mark shrugged and Dustin exhaled. They were both so tired. Dustin walked to the desk, saved Mark's work and dragged Mark away from his computer. Mark began to protest but Dustin put a finger on his lips.  
"Don't say anything. Just listen to me and go home."  
Dustin wasn't smiling. Mark listened.

.:.

Chris went to Facebook, because it was his baby. Because it meant Mark and Dustin. Because he hoped it could also mean Eduardo.  
Chris went to Facebook after he graduated from Harvard. It felt good. It felt wrong. He hadn't been this happy since a long time, but it didn't feel right, not without Eduardo.  
Chris went to Facebook and it felt like home. An empty home.

.:.

The first time Eduardo came back, it was raining.  
It was the first time he saw Mark and Dustin since the lawsuit. It felt weird. He felt out of place.  
It was the first time he came back to Facebook since the dilution. It felt like coming home, but being welcomed as a guest. It was a familiar place without warmth in it anymore.  
Dustin was the first who saw him. Mark could tell because of his smile. It wasn't a fake one. It was natural. Mark hadn't seen Dustin this relieved since, well, he couldn't even remember.  
Chris was the first who spoke to Eduardo because it seemed easier this way. He was the one who stayed with Eduardo back at Harvard. He was the one Eduardo had spent the most time with after the lawsuit.  
Mark was the first who stood up and walked towards him. Eduardo wasn't looking their way at that moment, didn't see any of this.

.:.

Eduardo was always attentive about his looks. He wore fine clothes; he cared about what he said and how he said it, because it was so important to look good. That was what matter the most.  
He never cared about what he looked like when he was playing video games with Dustin or swearing while Dustin beat him. Never cared about what he looked like when he was lying in Chris' arms, crying silent tears in the middle of the night. Or when he was too drunk to go back to his dorm and was rambling on Mark's bed.

.:.

Eduardo went to Facebook more and more often. At first, he spoke politely with other employees or shareholders and smiled absently at Dustin and Chris. Then he spent more time with them, laughing with them, and occasionally looked at Mark, his eyes not as cold and hurt as they used to be.

.:.

Mark was the one who made the first move.  
He asked Eduardo to come at his place for dinner. Eduardo didn't even hesitate before saying "yes" with a husky voice, as if his throat was too tight.

.:.

The house was nice. Eduardo was surprised to see Mark's place clean and tidy. He guessed Dustin and Chris were involved.  
Mark was stressed about this evening. Eduardo could tell by the way Mark wouldn't take his hands out of his hoodie. Eduardo wasn't sure if that made him feel better.  
Mark had tried to cook; Eduardo could smell the burnt smell from the living-room and he couldn't help laughing. Mark looked at him and smiled. They ordered pizzas and went on the terrace with some beers.  
The sun was still shining in the sky, dispensing its last warmth for the day. Eduardo closed his eyes, listening to Mark's breathe beside him. It almost felt good. Really, _really_ good.  
They didn't talk that much, because there were still so many things they didn't want to talk about. It was easier just to ignore it.  
Mark talked about some party from their time at Harvard and it didn't hurt. Not as much as Eduardo expected. He turned his face and opened his eyes. Mark wasn't looking at him, a smile on his lips as he remembered Dustin, Chris, Eduardo, and himself so wasted a long time ago.  
Eduardo smiled too.

.:.

This was awkward. Mark never felt like that before. Usually, he didn't care about what other people thought, how they reacted at what he said. He didn't understand how their minds worked to really care. Eduardo was different. He had always been. Mark already lost him once; he didn't want to lose him again. He was aware _this_ might be his only chance to get Eduardo back. Mark couldn't fail this time. He couldn't let Eduardo go.

.:.

They ate pizza in the living-room. They were too busy eating to talk. Well, that's what they wanted the other to think. It had been so long since the last time they were just the two of them, they seemed to have forgotten how to act with each other.  
"We could call Dustin and Chris."  
Mark looked at Eduardo and nodded awkwardly. Eduardo called them.

.:.

Dustin and Chris arrived together, bringing more pizzas and beers. It almost felt like Kirkland all over again.

.:.

Mark and Chris played video games. Eduardo and Dustin watched them, laughing when Chris shouted at Mark when he lost.  
"I've been offered a job in Singapore," Eduardo murmured to Dustin.  
Dustin turned his head, Mark and Chris all forgotten, no smile on his lips. Eduardo closed his eyes for one second, didn't want to see the pain.  
"Did you take it?" Dustin asked with a blank voice.  
Eduardo shrugged, looked at his feet.  
"I... I didn't. Yet."  
Dustin didn't say anything.

.:.

They were sitting on the floor. It almost felt like Kirkland all over again. Dustin was lying down, mumbling something while Mark tried to poke him with his toes to shut him up. Chris laughed at both of them, mocking them. Eduardo chuckled as he tried to finish his beer.  
It almost felt like Kirkland all over again.

.:.

Mark was asleep on the couch. Chris put a blanket over him. Dustin's head was resting on Eduardo's shoulder. Eduardo didn't know if Dustin was sleeping, if he could hear him, but Eduardo said it anyway.  
"I wanna stay. I don't wanna leave, I wanna stay."  
Dustin moved his head, looked at Eduardo. Eduardo had never seen him smiling like that, like his jaw would fall to the ground and his eyes shone brighter than the sun.  
"We want you to stay."  
Eduardo nodded, not saying "I know" because it didn't need to be said.

.:.

It _almost_ feels like Kirkland all over again.  
They aren't nineteen anymore. They aren't innocent kids. Still, they are four and that's all that matters.


End file.
